Professionals and teachers may also wonder how much information to provide or how to help children if they are confused, troubled or asking tough questions in the wake of upsetting news or events, personal or global. The following list of tips addresses some concerns and questions parents and school professionals may have regarding conversations with children on these difficult topics.

Talking with Children About Difficult Subjects

Children ask a lot of tough questions. Questions that touch on death, whether related to a serious illness, a traumatic event or an international tragedy, such as an act of terrorism, war or natural disaster, are some of the hardest to answer. Parents may wonder if they should protect their children from these potentially frightening subjects or confront them head on. And, because more often than not parents are themselves emotionally affected by these types of events, helping children deal with them is made harder.

Professionals and teachers may also wonder how much information to provide or how to help children if they are confused, troubled or asking tough questions in the wake of upsetting news or events, personal or global. The following list of tips addresses some concerns and questions parents and school professionals may have regarding conversations with children on these difficult topics.

Contrary to adults' fears, talking about illness, death, violent acts or threatening events will not increase a child's level of distress. It is very important to engage in an open discussion about children's feelings, fears and worries. Avoiding discussion of scary and sad events and the strong feelings they engender likely has more potential for harm than talking about them does.

However, as with other topics, it's important to consider the age and developmental level of the child when entering into a discussion. According to the National Institutes of Health, research has shown that two main factors influence a child's understanding of death: their developmental level, and their experiences.

Even children as young as four or five typically have some awareness of death, both on a small scale, like a dead insect in the yard, and a much larger one, like the devastating earthquake in Japan. But not all children know how to talk about their feelings and concerns. Additionally, it is important to consider the child's personality, such as whether the child is fearful or anxious by nature, and previous experience, like the death of a relative, when talking about stressful life events.

While every situation is unique and talking with a child about a terminally ill aunt is by nature different from talking about a news event that, while potentially horrifying, doesn't impact your child directly, here are some general tips to bear in mind.

Talking with Children About Difficult SubjectsProfessionals and teachers may also wonder how much information to provide or how to help children if they are confused, troubled or asking tough questions in the wake of upsetting news or events, personal or global. The following list of tips addresses some concerns and questions parents and school professionals may have regarding conversations with children on these difficult topics.read at RULIST press >>

A Woman in Russia in the Third Millennium`Russian women are very beautiful, look good and stylish, they`re smart and kind.
And it doesn`t matter what period of time you`re considering or in which country they live. Russian women are very well educated, they`re leaders who are moving forward, but at the same time our women are very feminine.`read at RULIST press >>

Curtain up!From March 15 through 17, 2013, in the Washington, DC, and the surrounding area there was held the 3rd International Festival of Russian-Speaking Children and Youth Theaters of America.read at RULIST press >>